Discover Physics at Carnegie Mellon

Physics research at Carnegie Mellon University spans a large range of methods and topics, from the internal structure of particles to the structure of the universe. Our Ph.D. program is consistently ranked among the top 20 U.S. universities by the National Research Council. U.S. News & World Report ranks Carnegie Mellon in the top 30 universities in the nation, and in the top 100 amongst universities worldwide, for undergraduate education. Carnegie Mellon is distinct in its interdisciplinary approach to research and education.

The Department of Physics is embedded in the Mellon College of Science and an integral part of Carnegie Mellon University's famed interdisciplinary approach to problem solving in the real world, as exemplified through our Condensed Matter/Nanophysics and Biological Physics groups. Carnegie Mellon itself is a critical facet of the story how Pittsburgh reinvented itself as a city of science, innovation, arts and entertainment.

Carnegie Mellon University's main campus is three miles from downtown Pittsburgh, nestled between the Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and Oakland neighborhoods. The city of Pittsburgh is vivacious and boasts to be America's Most Livable City. The second largest city in Pennsylvania, it is located at the confluence of three rivers: the Monongahela, the Allegheny, and the Ohio. While offering all the opportunities of a large metropolitan area, Pittsburgh has small-town friendliness and a lower cost of living than other major cities, such as Boston, Chicago, San Francisco or New York.